


Ruined Friendship and All

by MimiJae



Category: Captive Prince - C. S. Pacat
Genre: Alternate Universe - Captive Prince Fusion, Alternate Universe - College/University, Angst, Auguste's Death Is Talked About, Eventual Smut, M/M, Mutual Pining, POV Damen (Captive Prince), POV Laurent (Captive Prince), Real World/ Captive Prince World mixing, Sexual Tension, Slow Burn, YouTube, vlogging - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-17
Updated: 2018-09-26
Packaged: 2019-07-13 14:40:26
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 11,256
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16020023
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MimiJae/pseuds/MimiJae
Summary: The pair become roommates and work together as social media influencers, pursuing YouTube as their temporary, side career.Present day Damen has taken up many roles in their two year friendship, but there is another role Laurent thinks he can fit into.





	1. Reciprocity

**Author's Note:**

> Timeline is in the after notes.

Laurent held the camera at arm's length in his left hand. It successfully captured the shoulders of passers-by, the top half of his body, a profile shot of Damen, and most the length of Damen’s body. It was high noon, and the sun amplified the red pigment in Damen’s curls, the blue in Laurent's eyes. They were walking about, taking huge steps of which Laurent accredited to Damen's height. He let the camera roll for about ten seconds to capture the ordinariness of their day before they went into their regular spiel.

"Hi guys," Laurent said, "we're back again with vlog number Sixty-seven?" It was more so a question rather than a statement.

Always ready, Damen turned and bantered, "Sixty-seven sounds about right." He looked at Laurent who piggybacked.

"Sixty-seven it is. You guys have been so good to us, we decided to do a mail time unboxing yesterday. If you would like to see all the things we unwrapped, click on the link down below in the description box.” Damen pointed and gestured the bottom of the screen. “If you would like to know where to send us gifts, our p.o. box will also be in the link in the description box down below. We really appreciate you guys, thank you so much for our gifts. We are about to go to the Galleria and spend one of the gift cards we received."

Laurent looked to Damen who goofily lowered his shades and winked, totally random. Laurent followed suit and made kissy faces at the camera until he was again possessed by YouTuber attention deficit disorder. It is a real thing, he would sometimes argue.

"Tell them about the likes." He turned to Damen again looking completely and utterly...

 _Smitten_.

Their subscribers were familiar with the look in his cool, blue eyes. Laurent considered himself a pro at suppressing matters that involved emotions. The natural physiological responses were much harder to mask, however; responses such as rising blushes, his body language, and/or the tension that was occasionally in effect. When he would think about it, their body language spoke to each other in a way that was comfortable and calm. Laurent was surprised because he felt that he was so damned good at pretending, an acting agent should have already hit him up for a gig. This was a different platform, however.

They had been doing YouTube for about two years and were the most unlikely pair, to say the least. Their dissimilarities are why their four-million subscribers loved them. Laurent stood at 5"10, pale with the inability to ever get tan despite the hours spent in the sun. He was a very casual dresser. He was intensely beautiful with his exquisite facial structures and glowing skin. He could claim androgynous had his mannerisms been even slightly effeminate. His pale blond hair was past his shoulders, messily parted at the side.

Damen was a total piece of work. He stood at 6"3, he was an obvious gym nut, and possible fuck boy. Possibly the only guy who could ever pull off a man bun. Douche hair, Laurent would say. His hair was a loosely curled, overgrown version of the style known as an ‘undercut’. Long, uncontrollable dark curls on top that could reach his mouth stretched out. He was always styling, always perfumed. Obviously cared way too much about his appearance and had never gone unnoticed by the opposite sex. Delicious, caramel-brown skin. Ironically, a total sweetheart and general good guy.

It was Damen’s turn to talk. "Since we received over 50k likes on our haunted house vlog, we will be live streaming sometime this week. We're going to take a poll on what the video should be. Just click on the 'i' at the top right of the video to take the poll on what you guys would like to see from us on this livestream coming up. All the proceeds will go to Julius, the homeless vet who scared the everlasting shit out of Laurent."

"I was not scared at all." Laurent was monotone as ever. He was known for being the mysterious one, constantly aloof. He was always somewhere off in a distant land known as the crevices of his mind unless, of course, Damen was involved. One could then account for the layers for that would peel back, and Laurent would slowly come out of his shell. "You were holding on to my arm the entire time." Laurent added.

"I was making sure you didn't get lost and start crying for me like you did when we first arrived. Too bad we didn't get it on camera, I don't have any evidence." Damen flashed the camera with his smile, "Anyways."

"Anyways." Laurent repeated, but with dry sass and a slight eye roll.

The video did a seamless cut and switched to a zoomed-in perspective of Damen and group of girls who were obviously nervous, giddy even. Laurent was nearby, but the audience could tell he was videoing from around the corner. They were at the Galleria mall. The girl Damen was speaking with tucked a lock of her brunette hair behind her ear, nodded and smiled a relieving smile. She gave her phone to Damen and had him snap a selfie of them both, followed by the rest of the group.

"It's the fucking dimple. Every. Time." Laurent whispered.

The girl left, and Damen turned towards where he knew Laurent was lurking. He gave a thumbs up while the group gossiped and shrilled.

Another seamless cut and the unlikely pair were at the wishing fountain. It was Damen holding the camera. A subscriber could always tell by the downward view on Laurent from a higher angle.

"What did you wish for?" Damen asked, in his amused voice.

"I'm not really supposed to be telling you this, but if you must know, I wished for more wishes."

"Of course your smart ass would wish for something like that." He handed the camera to Laurent and then Damen, himself, became the muse yet again.

Damen tossed the coin in the fountain. He watched as it made the plopping noise and sank down to the bottom. Laurent comically zoomed into Damen's face as he could tell his friend was trying not to like he was in deep thought.

"What did you wish for?"

Damen turned, "I am not telling." He smiled.

"You stole my wish, didn’t you?"

The angle showed Damen walking towards the camera, he stared directly into the lens, "Wouldn't you like to know." He stuck his tongue out flirtatiously at the audience, or maybe Laurent.

A few minutes later, they were at a grungy store called Spencer's. Laurent walked through a rack of clothes, at a first-person point of view angle. His hand was stuck out in front of the camera with condoms and lube in his palm as he walked towards Damen who had a bra strap fastened on his back. Damen turned around and on the bra were painted-on breast, which honestly defeated the purpose of a bra. Laurent laughed.

"I thought you might need this." Laurent gestured the items in his hand by slightly pushing it towards Damen.

Damen accepted the offering, pretending that it was a regular day in his boob-painted bra. "Thanks." He took the items and looked up past the camera, towards a chuckling Laurent. "What? You have a problem?" He held out his arms as if he was really going to fight his best friend before the camera angle panned out to the side and the video ended.

Laurent sat on their sofa, in their living room, in their home. He was on his laptop intensely editing videos. In the background, mounted to the wall, was their flat screen set on the Food Channel, adequately on background noise duty. If he focused, he could finish editing, and get the video out to their three-million subscribers in three hours flat. He had been at it for the past two hours. One left to go.

They were both college students. Damen studying food and nutrition/ natural remedies. He was the former star of the college football team, and was quite intelligent in his studies, and in having a backup plan.

Laurent was an undergraduate in the vet tech field and was going for his bachelors.

While becoming friends was a complete coincidence, the way they met was totally planned by Laurent who made sure that they were in the same vicinity on a certain night.

The backstory of Laurent’s misfortune occurred eight years prior. He lived with his uncle due to his older brother, Auguste, leaving the house late one night on an ill-fated October. The night ultimately led to Auguste getting into a car accident and passing away due to complications. The reason he left the house was later found out to be the result of accompanying a man named Damianos.

Auguste was driving, and it was not raining. Authorities concluded he was not drunk, he was not high, and he wasn't speeding. It was a complete and total a freak accident, or so they thought. That was until Damen’s wealthy family had the totaled car investigated. Details emerged that the brake pedals were unsafe, it led to recalling on that make and model of car nationwide, and the winning of a lawsuit. Investigators later discovered that Auguste’s seat screws had become unhinged on one side, which explained the grave swelling to the left side of his brain. Not only did Laurent and his uncle receive millions, Damen’s family donated all their winnings to Laurent and his college fund. The accident was completely out of their hands, but if Damen hadn't called Auguste out that night, he would still be alive.

Damen, although totally innocent, should have been punished in Laurent’s eyes.

Laurent was already a YouTube vlogger by the time he met Damen. He planned to vlog his first hyped-up college party that he knew Damen was bouncing for. He amazingly caught a one-sided fight on camera where Damen knocked out a man for seemingly no reason. It was pure entertainment and totally unscripted.

Apparently, the guy had gotten into another fight just minutes before, and badly beat up another man. Damen made it to the scene, and stepped in. He knocked out the belligerent guy with a one hit k.o., but the champ regained consciousness a couple of minutes later. He had to be high-strung off all sorts of emotions (or maybe drugs), and the cheers from the crowd, the condescending laughs. It must have gotten to his head because he then tried to get one over on Damen by approaching him when his back was turned. It was like a fighting scene from a martial arts movie; Damen swiftly turned around, the guys hits were blocked, his arm was twisted around his back, and he was escorted off the premises while one of the nursing students treated the other innocent man who had passed out on the floor previously.

Damen came back to the scene of the crime and Laurent playfully opted to interview him, to eventually turn the tables and ask why. Why didn’t he call another friend that night his brother died? Why Auguste? _Why wasn't it you instead?_

However, the story of the brawl took an unexpected twist when, come to find out, the man Damen knocked out slipped roofies in the drinks of a couple of women in the party, including the first k.o.’s girlfriend.

Valliant, and honest, and kind, and attractive Damen was. Laurent found himself, in another twist of events: giving Damen praise and thanking him.

The next day, the two had gone to a quiet teahouse at Damen’s behest. Damen admitted that he knew who Laurent was from the get-go. He befriended Laurent in hopes to get into his good favors. He admitted that knew of Laurent’s channel, he knew Laurent struggled with the passing of his brother, he didn’t know how to approach Laurent, or if he would even be welcomed.

With Damen’s permission, Laurent posted the video to his channel. The two kept in constant communication after that as the video went viral. Then, Damen unassumingly became an internet meme known as ‘#BeefcakeBae’. It was rather hilarious. Damen would meet up with friends and from nowhere he would hear someone call his infamous nickname, “B.B.”

Damen gained a friend as Laurent slowly let his guard fall. They talked of the night. Damen assumed the role of counselor at first, he sincerely apologized. He explained the entire night, details of case, and Auguste’s mannerisms toward people other than family. He explained that Auguste was a “good man,” and he that he did not deserve what happened to him. The conversation had Laurent in choked back tears, then, real tears by the end of it.

Eventually, Damen saw the way Laurent was living and assumed the role of power of attorney after much convincing. It was a modest life, however, Laurent would have been living in luxury had it not been for his wretched uncle keeping the millions from him. Damen could not understand how such a man was related to Laurent, let alone, Auguste. The uncle actively payed for prostitutes, sports cars, and lived lazily without income from an honest day’s work. Laurent would inherit nothing had the situation continued.

Another lawsuit ensued, Damen had Laurent emancipated and was named ‘steward’ of his properties until the inheritable age of twenty-one.

After all the things that they had gone through, they now invested in a home together as roommates. Laurent was free to stay or leave once he reached age twenty-one.

In the present day, Damen emerged from the shower with low-slung, gray sweat pants on and nothing else. Literally, nothing else. Laurent could tell from the swing- Beefcake, Laurent had _stubbornly_ come to realize, was grossly apparent. He forced himself to look away.

Because of his easily incriminating skin complexion, he’d previously made distraction techniques in case such a situation should occur. That being said, he glanced yet didn't look away from Damen’s eyes. The reason he maintained eye contact was to signify that Damen had no effect on him (like he did on everyone else who had eyes).

Damen was all brown skin and muscled biceps, and chest, and abdominals, and, how could he forget, the defined v-cut. He had a braces-straight smile. As corny as it sounded, Damen was legitimized walking perfection. Blessed by the Most High and all-around talented.

Damen went to the fridge, he bent in a clear line of sight of Laurent, to get a yogurt cup (which was unimportant). He had legs for miles in the nicest ass he ever seen on a guy. Again, anticipating the turnaround, Laurent refocused his line of sight to the top of Damen's head.

Laurent slowed his breathing, he refocused his mind on the task on hand. So that he wouldn't be hard-pressed to think about a response, he formed a question and asked first.

"The subs want us to do another truth or dare video. Unfiltered." He started in his usual monotone that he used outside of vlogging.

His eyes focused on Damen’s face, of which, was critical to maintaining the values and system beliefs in phase two in Mission: Unphased.

"Again?" Damen leaned against the counter, abs rippling and glistening from the direct light of the kitchen. "I would've thought they'd have me play another scary video game."

_Phase two, overthrown. Do not abort. Uploading backup plan._

"Well, they know we overlook questions because we get them from Twitter. Let’s not filter this time."

"Ok. So no filter this time? Are you ok with that because you know the subs will ask things to make you air all our dirty laundry, and you can’t keep a secret."

“I can too keep a secret. I have plenty.”

Damen cocked an eyebrow. “Oh yeah? Like what?”

Laurent’s eyes narrowed in contemplation, but he found himself pursing his lips into a small smile. “I know how to tiptoe around it.” Said Laurent.

"Of course you do. You're way too dangerous with that mouth." Damen’s voice faded as he walked down the hallway to his room. Laurent watched him go.

"You know me so well." Laurent called, sarcastically.

“Of course I do."

_Not true. Not true at all._

It was a few days after Vlog number sixty-seven, three days to be exact. Damen studied most of the time. Laurent had put up the first Q&A video which contained ten questions. The second set of Q&A were going to be on the spot, live. He was going to try and milk all the money that he could get out of it since it was going to Julius, the homeless guy who was making all the spooky noises in that haunted house unbeknownst to Damen and Laurent. They wholeheartedly believed there was an actual ghost.

Damen called over a girl eventually, predictably. And by a girl, Laurent meant the other girl. The one who was probably just as vain as he was, in her case, knowingly. She was oddly familiar because she had strangely accurate similarities to himself. Joline? Jomarie? Just Jo, Laurent named her.

He knew the story, “a ‘friend’ from back home,” Damen would say. Laurent met her at the end of his first year. The university newspaper decided to go around and crown people with certain awards. He had wondered why he was called to the auditorium to find out that him and Jo were awarded the, "Separated at Birth," prize. They met, conversed, and took pictures resembling the comedy/tragedy masks, with Laurent doing a less dramatic version of the tragedy portion. Or rather, her comedy face had been so overly-dramatized to where his stale expression seemed underwhelming.

Contrary to the campus rumors, she was shy, reserved, sweet, but not without a constant wonder as to what lies beneath. She didn't wear any makeup but there were layers there, Laurent knew better than anyone.

He had come to realize when people grow up, the relationship dwindles, fucking Damen kept her invited to the family outings. He kept her around and she brother hopped. Yep. She slept with Damen, but her eyes were on the prize, Damen’s older brother, Kastor, who held the family’s wealth. Damen knew- he knew he wasn’t a pity fuck. He was a ‘in-the-loop’ fuck. She was Damen’s childhood friend turned friend-with-benefits. Laurent could tell that Damen really cared for her as a friend. Loved her? Laurent didn’t think so.

Laurent got a vibe from Jo during the time of his first encounter with her, he spoke to Damen openly about it because they spoke openly about _almost_ everything. Laurent pointed out to him how disgusting it would be if Kastor actually did give her the time of day. Kastor, he deduced, was so low as to sleep with a person Damen had slept with. This destroyed Damen internally because he didn’t want to believe it about his brother, he knew it was true. Laurent played the cards and instructed Damen to act in, “her best interest”. Genuinely, and not out of jealousy, Laurent suggested to cut ties with their sexual relationship so that she could pursue Kastor in earnest.

Damen wasn't sex crazed, per se, but he did have a healthy sex life with Jo mostly, and other women that he quote-unquote, “had love for," and _wow_ , was he making excuses for him again?

If he had gone to get a drink early in the morning he could faintly hear her in the throes of passion murmuring, begging, thanking.

He listened with indifference, or so he told himself. The headphones helped. He drank water with a painful lump in his throat, and one secretly in his heart.

 Their home was spacious, “luxury,” was Damen's choice word. Damen said Laurent deserved the best. So, they invested into a five bedroom home. It was a two-story, with their rooms at opposite ends on the bottom floor, the living room and kitchen in between. It was in a nice neighborhood close to campus.

One day, Laurent tiptoed out of the restroom closest to the living room to no avail. Jo was staring at him with a water bottle and an apple from the fridge, green like her eyes.

"You know,” she said to Laurent, “I watch you guys’ videos every day so, this won't really be goodbye."

In an instant he put two and two together. Had foolish, _foolish_ Damen listened to him? He didn’t have much time to solidify that thought, he focused the moment and on being faux caring. _Say something Damen would say_ , he thought. "He will miss you."

She smiled a smile much like his own at times, one that didn’t reach her eyes. "Uncanny. He said as much."

The statement was too much on the mark.

"It is the truth."

"Not this time Laur." She knew his full name, unlike the reverse situation. It was a stupid nickname.

In a mere microsecond he came up with five scenarios in his head. He picked one which fit based on context clues, but he wanted to hear her out, so he stayed silent.

Jo played into the silence, "He called it off with me." She smiled a pretty smile and made a noise along as if it was unbelievable that Damen would have the gall.

"He will still miss you." In his usual monotone that, in this situation, came off insincere.

Jo was at the door letting herself out. "Not this time, I'm afraid.” She said with distaste, aimed at Laurent. “He has the authentic version.” _Wait_. “No holds barred. Definitely, without mind games." _What?_

Laurent mentally computed if Jo had implicated himself as one of Damen's casual fucks. She closed the door after the statement. He was sure of her exit when the door slammed, and it automatically locked.

Everything Jo said was purely based on opinion. None of it was factual evidence, right _?_

 He realized he had let his heart race. He proceeded with steps to get it back to its normal systolic and diastolic. He went to his bedroom, to his bed and plopped. Laurent slowly came to a halting realization. _What had Damen told her exactly?_

Laurent let the circumstance accumulate over roughly thirty minutes, nothing was going to calm him more than conversing with Damen.

He put on his phone on the charger, found the desired name in his contacts, swiped left, and began the text message.

_What happened?_

The response came perhaps 5 seconds after. _You were right..._

 _You ended it? Why?_ Laurent thumbed.

 _Yeah..._ Damen’s messaged. Although texting, Damen's response could be heard in a decrescendo. Laurent was left to his thoughts. Then the follow up came, _there are other things that are more important to me. That’s what I told her._

 _Like what?_ Laurent responded.

This text took almost a minute for Damen to respond. Laurent’s heart sank when he heard and felt the vibration. _You, for one... as a roommate. I have been very inconsiderate in that way… and to you as a person. When you confronted me, I realized it._ The second text came as soon as Laurent finished reading the first one, and the all the lines in between. _I’ll be graduating with my masters at the end of next year. Ain't nobody got time for that._

Laurent sent Damen three crying laughing emojis. _You guys didn’t fuck? You know, one last time?_ He had never commented on Damen’s sex life, nor had Damen commented on his, or his lack thereof one. He had asked if Laurent was a virgin before, but that was it. Damen never seemed to ask the right questions.

Laurent pulse sped, his ears were hot and probably red because he knew the question was illicit. He didn't lack confidence, he knew they had been subliminally flirting for the past couple of weeks or so.

_Nah. It is weird, I didn’t want to. Just want to move on. Plus, we got our results from the blood drive last week remember. Js, starting over with a completely clean slate, not that I was worried._

_I feel you. So… what is it like with a woman?_ He said, testing the limits of the conversation.

_I know you’re not a virgin._

_I’m not._ Laurent replied promptly, hoping to further push more boundaries.

_Hmmmmm._

_Hmmmmm?_

_I can say it is definitely different than being with a man._

Laurent’s fingers dashed with all that had come to the forefront in that one simple message. He read it, analyzed, and read it again. His heart beat loudly with joy and also sadness that a woman kept Damen from revealing parts of himself to Laurent. But Damen, on Laurent’s advice, hadn’t let her, not anymore. That had to count for something, but what?

_I knew it! You’ve been with a man before._

_…Wouldn't you like to know?_ Damen inserted the side eyes emoji.

Laurent let an incredulous laughter escape past his lips. He left a few intervals of silence in between the next time he text back. He held his breath to dull the wellspring of emotions he was presented with.

_Soooooooo, bisexual Damen is a thing?_

_Depends on who is asking._

_Welp,_ he was feeling daring, co _unt me out, I fuck men like you. And you don’t seem like to type to bottom._ Laurent was goading Damen, testing the limits. He knew it. The outcome he secretly desired was to get his ass handed back to him. Or to get a definitive "no".

All that was returned was Damen’s most revealing text message to Laurent. _You seem like the type to want to top from the bottom. You probably wouldn’t shut up and let yourself get worked over._

Laurent could practically visualize the air leave is lungs based on the feeling he felt in that moment. He composed himself and returned to Damen the crying laughing emojis followed by a jokingly stern, in all caps, _GOODNIGHT DAMEN._

_Night love. Lol._

Laurent felt he was being spoiled. He reread the conversation multiple times, disassembling it, dissecting it. _Had it been a dream?_ His heart, for so long, ached for something unobtainable- a first. If was painful for months, yet while he stood on his self-made morals, and his principles, existing mostly on the mental plane, Laurent wondered, _"how did it get like this?"_ He thought, and thought, and thought again until he admitted to himself, _"how did I let it get like this?"_

He recounted the two years. Damen had come into his life and instead of making it worse, he made it _better_. Laurent could talk to Damen. He could rely on his words, even stake his life on them. Damen had never forsaken him, he was loyal, he had never gone and- He retracted from that frame of thinking. He wasn't a kid anymore and should not have exhibiting such childish thoughts, let alone, emotions.

Laurent would deny it. He knew he would.

He couldn't outwardly show that what had once been a dull craving, peaked into a desire to fuck (or be fucked by) Damen. Laurent wanted the type of unity that was born of sexual closeness, though, his desires had transformed into something else.

Laurent would never acknowledge the swell of fondness pervading the corners of his mind. He wouldn’t dare recognize the situation for what it was, in apprehension of speaking it into existence. However, the word repeated in his mind and grew stronger with each passing day.

Glances that went one way, time that was spent in solitude, a touch that wasn’t there, a feeling that was not reciprocated.

The word subtly, sneakily grew louder, and he couldn't stand it.

 _Unrequited_.

 

 


	2. Tension

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Damen knows Laurent blames him for Auguste's death. He struggles with his desire for Laurent (and failing), trying to keep Auguste's last words, and providing/protecting in a way to Laurent that is strictly familial.  
> He is cataloging what got them to this point in the present day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is mostly flashback from Damen's POV. A timelime is in the end notes.

Damen reminisce on times in which he and Laurent lay awake in the wee hours of the morning, helping each other with homework, working, talking about what they wanted from life, or simply in each other’s company. In an interval which turned the tide, Damen realized that despite the distance he put between them, he had allowed them to become friends. 

One day, as a friend, they had spoken about relationships and Laurent surprisingly gave him sound advice about the Jokaste situation. The overall conversation was filled with though-provoking questions, with twist and turns, as if Laurent was testing him. Damen could discern that the advice was absent of jealousy and resolute, at the price that he was pried open like a can.

It was in the works plans to rearrange his life for the better, take some chances that needed to be taken, focus even harder on school (he had written so many essays this semester), and when the time came, snip some loose ends. Laurent’s encouraging words were the catalyst to the change.

Damen wanted to consult with Laurent beforehand his plan to end it with Jokaste, but Laurent was well liked and had many friends. Consequently, on that day, Laurent entertained company when Damen returned home. From the sounds coming from Laurent’s room, he knew the man to be Lazaro. Damen heard game noises and their talking in the background, so they were probably shooting a quick video for Laurent’s separate gaming channel.

Damen felt an odd annoyance that he and Lazaro had never been formally introduced. Come to think of it, he realized he would have to watch the videos Laurent post to be introduced to them. He couldn't quite place the difficult feeling, like a weight pressed to his chest. Laurent was hanging out with another friend who wasn't his own, and he didn’t like it. The discomfort towards the men Laurent brought back was like a kid in a classroom who always raised a hand but was never chosen to answer a question. But Damen forced himself out of those thoughts. The subs seem to like Lazaro, which meant he was probably a good friend to Laurent, and that eased Damen’s protective mind, at least.

So, he hit the gym to pass time. Overall, it was a light workout where he worked out various areas of his body for short periods of time. He took a shower, hydrated, and visited a salad bar near his home where he ate quite an alternative salad: with apples, mandarin oranges, and sweet blueberry vinaigrette. Jokaste met him there ten minutes afterwards.

He went and payed for her meal, then they sat and had a polite conversation, all the while Damen mentally recycled Laurent’s advice. He was nervous but steadfast in what he had to do. She was going to be one of the first changes that he made in this life.

See, Jokaste was in love... with his brother.

It was ironic to think about because he'd never thought that it would had ever been a problem.

They began fucking a year prior, yet their meetings stayed far and few between. They never kissed. Their meetings were with ample touching, but that’s just the way Damen was. It was impersonal and safe. They never talked about it afterwards. Only in the act would they converse, the few times Jokaste did not receive her finish from the act.

He reconnected with her when the university newspaper forced her and Laurent together by awarding them the, ‘Separated at Birth’ recognition award. Upon meeting Laurent in the auditorium, Damen ran into his childhood friend, Jokaste. He brought her around into his life, around his family, and it was the biggest mistake.

One day, at four in the morning, he found out that she had been communicating with his brother after one of their sessions.

Damen talked to his brother on the phone to make future plans, but Kastor had to check to see if his schedule was free on a certain day. Jokaste’s phone began buzzing immediately after Kastor clicked over the line. She answered the call and continued having the conversation that he and Kastor started. Jokaste’s conversation ended and Kastor returned, conveniently, to the line with Damen on it. Damen quickly put two and two together.

He waited until Jokaste dozed off again and asked his brother very casually if he kept in contact with her. Kastor admitted to keeping in contact, and in fact, "just speaking with her". Damen questioned him about the nature of their relationship and Kastor stated that he never hooked up with her because she preferred to, “play mind games”. Damen confronted Jokaste in the morning about it and she corroborated the story- minus the non-flattering details.

They concluded that friends with benefits was indeed beneficial to them both. They agreed that it is was the only relationship they would partake in, that is, until she decided to ditch him for his older brother, if Kastor would even have her then.

 

***

 

Once they were in the confines of his room after dinner, he began.

In a disorderly fashion, he word-vomited their cause for separation. Damen knew he sounded troubled, but Jokaste appeared unsurprised, as if she expected it. She even had a sympathetic softness in her facial expression which relieved him that she was taking it so well. He simultaneously felt guilty because the friendship would be unspeakably destroyed.

When she left, when he heard the front door shut, Damen sighed of relief. He received a text from Laurent a half an hour later.

_What happened?_

Why would Laurent ask such a thing? Jokaste must have had a run in with Laurent on the way out, Damen concluded. Laurent wouldn’t have casually spoken to her, so it led Damen to wonder why she didn’t make a beeline for the door.

He was still raw, so he decided to reply with whatever came out, _You were right_ … 

_You ended it? Why?_

_Yeah..._ Damen sighed audibly. He was upset about the friendship but decided to shake himself out of the slump because, in all honesty, he felt free. _There are other things that are more important to me. That’s what I told her._

 _Like what?_ Laurent responded.

Damen took a minute to think about the question. He found the message was easier to text than to say in person. _You for one as a roommate. I have been very inconsiderate in that way… and to you as a person. When you confronted me, I realized it._ He added, _I’ll be graduating with my masters at the end of this year. Ain't nobody got time for that._ Damen replied, deciding on meme humor to ease the situation. He waited moment for the response.

Laurent sent precursory crying laughing emojis,  _You guys didn’t fuck? You know, one last time?_

Damen’s physiological response to the text was similar to a time he was knocked onto his back in a wrestling match, with the wind knocked out of him, but without the intense pain. He wanted to be open and honest with Laurent.

_Nah. It is weird, I didn’t want to. Just want to move on. Plus, we got our results from the blood drive last week remember. Js, starting over with a completely clean slate, not that I was worried._

_I feel you, w_ as the only text he received from Laurent. It was soon followed up,  _So… what is it like with a woman?_

Damen’s mind raced. With haste, he replied, _I know you’re not a virgin._

 _I’m not,_ Laurent replied promptly as well.

_Hmmmmm._

_Hmmmmm?_

Laurent was taking no prisoners and throwing away the key.

Damen felt the moment he wanted to play into whatever game Laurent was playing. Laurent was well aware of how to capture his attention. He registered the fact that this text interaction could quite possibly become the second fragment that would turn the tide of their relationship

 _I can say it is definitely different than being with a man._ Damen responded.

Almost immediately _, I knew it you’ve been with a man before!_

 _…Wouldn't you like to know?_ Damen inserted the side eyes emoji. He didn’t know what made him do that- flirt with Laurent. It registered to him that he prayed Laurent would take the bait. What was followed was the longest sixty-three seconds of his life. His temperature seemed to rise.

_Soooooooo, bisexual Damen is a thing?_

Laurent was too intelligent to fall for his bait, he figured, but he had to lay the trap. _Depends on who is asking_ , he replied, (secretly) hoping Laurent would be the one asking.

 _Welp. Count me out, I fuck men like you._ _And you don’t seem like to type to bottom._ Seeing the text sent a wave like electricity to his groin area. He laughed in response to it for his reaction to Laurent sexuality being exactly like how he thought it would be- intimidating. Damen knew Laurent so well.

Since Laurent felt the need to tell him about himself, he figured what the harm was in doing the same.  _You seem like the type to want to top from the bottom. You probably wouldn’t shut up and let yourself get worked over._

Damen wondered if the text was too blunt. He had never sext(?) before. There was no need to, he was able to win women and men over without all the dramatics.

The lapse in time spoke for itself, it said that Laurent had thought about it. He _was_  actively thinking about it. Laurent took longer than five minutes, and Damen’s heart raced with each passing second.

 _GOODNIGHT DAMEN,_ Laurent returned finally. It didn’t take anyone five minutes to type two words _._

Damen didn’t read the text as serious, but it did draw him to the conclusion that his previous text was, indeed, too harsh. Deciding on something lighthearted, Damen text back, _Night, love. Lol._

The next day, everything was back to normal except for the curious glances.

Damen sat at the table on the bar stool with his legs crossed at the bottom, eating the breakfast he cooked which included a jellied toast, oatmeal, and scrambled eggs with slices of homegrown avocado on top. He could see into the living room where Laurent gathered his items for class- this was another of their standard, wordless mornings. After their tell-all session, Damen wondered had Laurent often congregated to the living room to force their brief encounters. Laurent even slept on the sofa sometimes. Damen remembered there was a blanket of his that Laurent had yet to return.

When he thought further of that night, there were sensors in the back of Damen’s mind which alerted him that Laurent was sleeping in a peculiar way, he just couldn’t put his finger on it.

Stunned, Damen forgot to close his mouth around his forkful of eggs as he realized how clueless he _really_ was. Laurent continued to casually go about his day, but Damen effortlessly entered a series of flashbacks to that night he returned home and found Laurent sleeping on the sofa with said blanket between his thighs… with said blanket pressed to his face. His flush was hidden behind his complexion, but if Laurent had come to stand next to him, Damen was sure he’d have felt as if standing next to a volcano.

Knowing Laurent, it was an accident to find him sleeping like that.

 

***

           

Often, when he looked at Laurent, Damen found himself remembering the first time he met Auguste in high school. The two met when Auguste decided to focus more on his studies. He was big on education, and he instilled into his little brother the necessity for it.

Auguste was scouting a replacement for WMU’s football team and traveled all over with the coach at the time in search. They chose Damen, the boy who outperformed all others in every sport imaginable, but was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. He took Damen under his wing and Damen, effectively, became the new big man on campus while Auguste stayed the face of Marlan excellence. If either of them were seen around campus, the other was there as well. 

Auguste did not let trivial matters, such as race, cloud his judgement. However, the alliance between the two nations were still fragile, so it was a marvel to see a Veretian and Akielon together, with as good a friendship as the two had.

He thought back to one of the fondest memories he had with him, to the day Auguste caught him with a curly headed boy in the bathrooms. A look of shock washed over the three, then the corners of Auguste mouth form into a shit-eating grin, “ _I knew it, I knew it!”_

Although widely accepted, there was a hilarious factor that was indescribable, such as to see someone like Damen intimately with another guy. Perhaps it was that Damen never tried to hide his preferences, yet somehow, they were never able to be verified with hard evidence.

Laurent pushed Damen open a close-gated memory with the text he had sent previously. _I knew it you’ve been with a man before!_

Laurent, now twenty, looked to Damen with fond, secretive eyes. Had the words been said aloud, they were likely twisted on Laurent's lips with an unspoken double meaning.

Damen then thought about Auguste’s feelings in the matter, if it had happened between them when Auguste was alive.

He remembered Auguste’s dying words, _“Take care of Laurent,”_ he heard right before exiting the hospital room, and seeing the hysterically crying boy with his quietly grieving uncle.

“I’ll make sure you guys never have to worry again.” He said to the pair. He knew it wasn’t much, but it was the least he could do.

They lost touch after the court cases due to the uncle. Damen looked for them every day to no avail, until the freshman frat party two days into his post-grad school year. Beforehand, he found a sort of comfort when a blond-headed young man appeared in his suggestions on YouTube. He saw the familiar blond head walking through the crowd hiding behind a gaudy camera. The boy had turned towards him, a twin to his elder brother. Damen’s first thought was, “attractive,” before the commotion went off. Laurent caught the confrontation on tape and the rest was history.

It was embarrassing, but from women and men alike, he would hear any version of his meme name, Beefcake Bae, around campus; including, but not limited to, B.B., Bae, or, just simply, Beef. Random people he had run into every day would want to take pictures.

When Laurent was freed from his uncle and had come to live with him (after much convincing), he was intensely guarded. He would not speak and he made himself scarce around the home. Laurent purposely submerged himself deeply into his craft and his studies.

Damen wondered, had he felt it then? The countless hours he spent standing outside of Laurent’s door, listening to this other personality that had yet to reveal itself to him. Damen would watch the video when it posted, looking for some sort of clue that he was being acknowledged. None came.

Laurent let him in one day: “The subs wanted update from you.”

Damen did the update video without much thought that he and Laurent astonishingly cliqued on camera. Eventually, on a regular basis, he was being re-invited to Laurent's space, until he wasn't. Laurent moved his recording area to another room and brokered a deal.

 “I know you don't need the money,” Laurent started with a particular distaste a rich kid like Damen was accustomed to. “You help me grow my channel, and I'll cut you in. Seventy/thirty. I've put in work already and have amassed almost two million subs off of my brand.”

“I don't want your money.” Damen heard himself say, “I just-” _want you to talk to me._

Attention was lavished upon Damen in all areas, except one.

“You are crazy if you think I would turn that down. Write a contract. You're good at that.”

Damen created a contract where no proceeds would return to him, and Laurent signed.

Two brands, one channel. They _flourished_.

Laurent revealed more of himself the more they worked together.

Eventually, there was a persisting question where the subscribers kept wondering of Damen's regimen and routine. Damen created a second channel just for the special few who were interested in knowing, seeing of how most of their subs on the main channel were probably teenage girls. He began to record his workout routines, reveal his aspects diet, and, every once in a while, show off the plants and vegetables he grew himself. He and his subscribers would frequently name the plants that he had lying around the house. The first thing he ever showed off was the mango that he had grown using the paper towel and bag technique. The subscribers feel in love with not only his good looks but also with the fact that he was hands on. He showed how to make various emollients with random kitchen products to keep the skin glowing and scar free.

His channel soared.

In the present day, Damen occasionally decided to blow off steam at the gym, his sanctuary. Three months had passed since he decided on the path of celibacy. He'd go home, after all that working out, and all that blowing off steam, and had his calm voided in a split-second response to Laurent's cool, blue eyes.

All along, Damen acknowledged the pull towards Laurent was different. Anyone with eyes could see that he was beautiful. But he treated Laurent as if a centerpiece painting in an expensive living room, look but don’t touch. He repressed the afterthoughts as much as he could but found himself gravitating into Laurent’s bubble space. It wouldn't have been as bad if Laurent regarded him as an unwelcomed guest. However, when they recorded, he’d sit close enough that their thighs touched. If a camera needed to be adjusted, they would huddle close together to fix it. There often was an infrequent lingering touch they had yet to address.

 

***

 

It was Damen’s turn to edit the content edited the content. He almost always looked at Laurent’s full lips these days, his fine neck. Under the desk, his body reacted, his brain caught up with the arousal. He paused on a still frame of them both. Laurent was, unmistakably, eyeing him down. Damen noticed the looks being exchanged, the hand Laurent placed on his wrist. When the video was rolling, Damen hadn’t noticed it, if he did, he would have felt how illicit the touch was in the moment. When Laurent touched him, it would have spiked his pulse.

He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and counted to ten. Damen issued apologies to the late Auguste. He would not have wanted whatever was happening between he and Laurent. He wanted to be able to proudly go to Auguste and say that his and Laurent's relationship is the same type of camaraderie, but now- now they were joined in almost every aspect of life-living, and another emotion began to surface.

Verbally, their casual conversations were steady with the regular topics such as business, sometimes about life, and sometimes about family. However, their text messages kept getting increasingly suggestive.

Laurent stayed at a friend’s house for an entire week giving way for Damen to actually _miss_ him. When Laurent came home, he and Damen livestreamed a convoluted, horror, maze game on YouTube with Damen being the unlucky participant. Damen was jump-scared a time or two which, in turn, jump-scaring Laurent, the spectator. The spirits were high and jovial during and after the game. They retreated to their respective rooms to finish up homework for their classes.

Sometime after the live stream, right before bed, Laurent text Damen, _Second half of the truth or dare_ _Q &A finally tomorrow._

 _Slipped my mind_. It had been three months since they posted the last Q &A and donated the proceeds. It was also the three month anniversary of when they revealed their sexual preferences.

_Me too. The subs mentioned it yesterday in the comments._

Damen laid back on his bed wondering where Laurent had been for the week, what he was doing, who his was with, and what’s their relationship? The feeling sat uncomfortably in his chest as he tried to formulate the question without sounding envious.

After two minutes of Damen’s nonresponse, Laurent text, _Send nudes._

All logic and was thrown out the window. He figured it wouldn’t be as easy as he thought to forget Laurent was hopelessly attractive, and just his type.

Auguste’s words had never been more rapidly pushed to the back burner than in that moment, with the flare of arousal betraying him. Damen reread the text, his head was dizzy with sexual desire for Laurent.

 _Seriously?_ Damen responded.

 _Seriously._ Laurent replied.

Damen, without a second thought, lifted the hem of his elastic pants and snapped a picture just like that, with hand holding the waistband up in the background, his leg cocked to the side. The second picture had the waistband pulled back below his balls his cock sticking straight up, his hand resting on his pelvis, gripping his arousal. He had never gone so far as to do that for any other person, but he never thought that Laurent’s sarcastic and dry humor would lead him to ask for _nude pictures_. Damen hoped it wasn't a joke. He started lazily stroking himself.

Damen had a feeling that the pictures were being examined thoroughly. He let himself imagine what Laurent looked like turned on, or if Laurent was pleasing himself as well.

Laurent replied two minutes later, _That's for me?_

Damen's cock pulsated. He replied, now sexting, _It's all for you… if you want it._

_I want it._

The wind left Damen’s chest. Damen was modest, he made no mistakes- he had not a need to exaggerate his length, his girth. His back arched off the bed, he stroked in earnest to the thought of Laurent taking all his cock, down to the hilt; if Laurent would be able to handle it, if Laurent would greedily seek pleasure from it.

 _You too_ , he text Laurent.

Laurent’s return text to Damen was a helicopter view of his slender, lithe torso, and hard cock. The bottom half of Laurent’s face was in the picture which included his pink, plush lips. Damen imagined Laurent’s lips spreading for the tip. He imagined thumbing Laurent’s nipple, while sucking his pale cock, taking it to his throat. He touched himself thinking about the golden pubic hairs brushing his nose and inhaling the scent there. Having Laurent come in his mouth- swallowing it. Alone and uninhibited, Damen felt his climax. Against all judgement, he didn't deny himself of it. He gasped a cry of release, sliding his hand down, and squeezing his cock like a tube of toothpaste, and adequately ejaculated on the screen of his phone.

He knew it would happen like this. He regretted it instantly.

 _“Take care of Laurent,”_ immediately replayed in Damen’s mind as he searched for a towel to clean the phone. He was ridden with guilt when he wiped away his come, showing the picture that illuminated the screen beneath.

Auguste wouldn’t have wanted this. He would have wanted Damen to be a brother figure to Laurent, not a lover.

Laurent never text back that night. Damen noticed a wave of relief wash over him as he wanted to be left alone to his thought’s, to reform them.

The next day, Laurent returned from class at or around five p.m. Damen returned ten minutes later from class to find that Laurent’s shower was on.

He went to the cabinets and pulled out some granola and a banana and snacked on their recliner. His intention was to wait until Laurent was finished with the shower, to talk about what took place. However, Laurent emerged a few minutes later with his “#TeamLaurent” black-with-white lettered shirt on. Damen knew what that meant even before he had spoken.

“Are you ready?” Laurent said normally, with no hint that last nights ventures took place.

Damen switched his entire game-plan. "Yeah. Let me go change," normally as well.

Damen went and changed into his “#TeamDamen” shirt which was white with black text. He then went to their YouTube HQ where he proceeded to move the green screen out the way since it was going to be a live video. Laurent was tending to the desktop, setting up their camera that they use for all their streaming.

So that it wouldn't be awkwardly quiet, Damen turned on some music in the background from the surround sound flat screen that was mounted back there.

He took his seat next to Laurent on their black, three-seater bean bag that was the size of a small sofa, and stared face forward at the camera. Laurent typed on Twitter that they were live, he posted the link there and on their Facebook. He posted a premade video on YouTube that was ten seconds long with the link to their livestream in the description.

Camera personality was on. Whatever intimate things that happened between them the last couple of days were pushed to the back of their minds, a different part of themselves were on display.

Laurent returned to the YouTube page. He started reading some of the comments while Damen watched him do so.

"NinetalesKitten433, thank you." Laurent replied verbally to a text comment in the group chat of their video. Damen figured it was probably in response to a compliment on his eyes or maybe just his general appearance overall. "AwesomeUsername, don't know why he is being anti-social." Laurent twisted his body to face Damen. "Why are you being anti-social?" He cocked an eyebrow.

Damen put down his phone and scooted up closer to the camera. Damen appeared amused, he made direct eye contact with Laurent. "I'm just waiting on you to do the intro."

“Well I guess we can do it right now." Laurent said, returning to Damen undivided attention. In the same breath with his eyes still on Damen, Laurent began, "What's up guy's, it is I, Laurent and-"

"-I, Damen," on cue. He was the first to turn back to face the camera. Laurent followed suit.

"We are your _fearless_ leaders, and today we come to you to finish the other half of the truth or dare questions."

"Laurent enjoys pumpkin spice lattes."

The chatroom lit up with crying laughing emojis and "lol's". Some sent super chat messages where they donated to have their message highlighted, set apart from the rest of the comments.

At the end of their intro, or sometimes randomly, Damen made a habit to shade Laurent by revealing random facts about him. Sometimes they weren’t facts, they were just jokes left up to the subscribers to deem whether they are true or not.

"Anyways, we sent out a tweet a while ago and told you guys to tweet us a truth and a dare at #AskDamenandLaurent. We were going to take the first ten questions posted, un-filtered. You can go to our twitter to verify the questions. This is completely uncensored. Hopefully we have some good questions because we know you guys can get a little wild.” Laurent looked at Damen and then at his lips, “Explain the rules," said Laurent.

“Okay, for the new people, everything is a default truth, and we both have to answer. If there is a question that either I or Laurent refuse to answer, we have to do the dare that was also selected by the person who wanted us to answer the truth.”

“We have the choice,” Laurent concluded.

“Yes, we have the choice,” Damen repeated.

Everything they said sounded like an inside story, the tension between them made public. He knew- He knew the subs had an inkling that it was sexually charged.

“So, let us get right into it. Have you guys dated a fan before?” Laurent put down the phone and looked directly into the camera. Dramatically, he went to the microphone, “No,” he spoke in his deepest voice.

He turned to Damen expecting his reply to be the same. He was shocked when he realized that it wasn't the case as Damen wasn't so quick to answer.

“Don’t tell me…” Laurent covered his smile with the back of his hand.

Damen's eyes were wide with guilt. “Well, I guess this is one of those questions where it pretty much tells you the truth by my response, so I'll just come out and say it. We were not t _echnically_ dating.”

“Oh wow. Hit us with the _technically?”_ Laurent asked, playing with how silly it sounded. He looked back to the camera, “I’m _technically_ not in this video right now,” he joked.

“I _technically_ can't see you,” joking as well.

“Doesn’t matter because we’ve already _technically_ seen each other last night.”

Mid-laugh, Damen abruptly turned his head to face Laurent, his eyes widened, Laurent looked smugly.

Damen nudged Laurent with his forearm. “Oh hush.” If they didn’t know before, Damen thought they knew now. “What’s the next question?”

Most of the truth or dare was only a Q&A until there was one part that Laurent didn't want to answer. Laurent’s penalty was to drink two tablespoons full of hot sauce. When Laurent went to retrieve the items, Damen conversed with the viewers and thanked them for the donations. He was relieved to find that there were no comments about his and Laurent's relationship which, in some way, relieved him in assuming that he had strayed from Auguste's last words to him.

Laurent returned and performed the dare without much consternation.

Laurent wasn't as stripped-down as the subs thought he was, he had a way of making them believe that they were receiving the _real_ him. He wouldn't answer directly anything that was too personal. Anything that involved is family, he wouldn’t provide a forthcoming answer. Number _nine_ was that question.

Damen read number nine aloud from Laurent's phone, "Who in your family do you hate or have beef with?”

Laurent joked and made it seem as if he had minuscule beefs with most of his family members, and that it was normal for that to occur. Damen knew the only family Laurent had left were his distant relatives, second and third cousins and such.

Damen answered honestly and indicated his older brother was the one he had beef with most.

The last question encroached upon them. Laurent noticed the poster didn’t put an alternative dare.  He decided to read it anyways.

“What is the name of the last person you slept with?”

“I can't answer this.” Damen admitted.

“Yeah me neither. They didn’t put a dare, though.”

“Well, go to the next question’s dare. We will just do that one,” said Damen.

Laurent scrolled down their Twitter. He found the consecutive dare from the following poster. Laurent squinted, zoomed in, and his face went white, imperfectly stalling.

“What?” Damen asked, noticing Laurent’s peril. It might not have been detectable to their five-thousand viewer’s, but it was noticeable to him. “Laurent,” Damen called sternly. He reached for Laurent’s phone, it propelled them into a brief game of keep away.

Laurent instinctively fell to his back, laughing. He put his leg up to blockade Damen’s lunging body, he was unsuccessful in repelling him. Damen reached again for the phone, Laurent extended his arm further and further back until he couldn't anymore. In one fell swoop, Damen finally was able to snatch the phone away.

“Hey!” Laurent shouted. It was his turn to playfully assault Damen.

Damen, who is the obvious bigger guy, merely held up an arm that kept Laurent at bay.

The mood between them was lighthearted, when it was like this, they often searched for excuses to touch.

Damen frantically thumbed through Twitter searching for the eleventh dare while single-handedly blocking Laurent pointless assaults. It was by a fan-girly username, LaurentsEternalWife, who asked almost a similar question to the previous, dareless poster. Damen read over it: _What's the name of the last person you dated and why did you guys break up?_ If not answered, the subscriber dared Damen to-

"Kiss you on the lips?" Damen asked more surprised than anything. Not really surprised that they received another gay dare, but that in some twisted fate, by a hair, it made its way onto the roster.

“Really guys?” Laurent said into the camera, out of breath. He read the chat and all of its encouragements. Damen also went back to their 49” desktop monitor breathing heavily. Laurent began reading to Damen some of the responses to the dare in a mumbled way of talking. Damen's eyes followed the text.

When they faced each other to talk, Damen knew he couldn't keep his eyes off of Laurent's lips. Laurent read a few more responses, this time successfully stalling, most likely to gather his thoughts.

They were going to do it, but their YouTube personalities made them act like they didn't want to.

“Alright,” said Laurent eventually, “Let’s get it over with.” He was already facing Damen while Damen pretended to care about reading the chat.

Damen agreed, “Yeah.” He laughed at a response, “No homo? It's _all_ homo.” He was still in the sarcastic, egregious YouTube mode until he faced Laurent and realized this was going to happen, spectated by thousands.

Damen, without thinking, turned towards Laurent, shrugged nonchalantly, and performed the first portion of the ninety-ten method. He didn’t turn his head, he only looked comically at the camera with his eyes and his lips puckered.

Laurent wasn’t moving an inch. He peered at Damen under his eyelashes.

Earnestly, Damen slid forward, his big hands slid through the hair at Laurent’s nape, making it personal. Laurent came forward gradually, very gradually. Just when the kiss was to happen, Damen, with his free hand hidden by his body, reached up before their lips connected, and placed his fingers flat in the middle of their lips, partitioning them.

Laurent rescinded from the faux kiss with a repressed disappointment. Damen noticed the quick transaction of his eyebrows drawn together, and then Laurent's expression becoming a blank slate, followed by his YouTube persona face.

Laurent turned to the camera where the chat was going wild with various dead face emojis, screaming in fear emojis, and skull emojis. There were a few who caught what happened and called it cheating. Everyone would know once the video was posted and re-watched. There would be the few who wanted it to be true at all costs, disregarding the obvious sleight-of-hand that separated their lips.

Laurent was unable to hold back a smile due to the ridiculous situation, “There you have it guys.”

Damen shyly laughed through his nose- as if they really did kiss.

“Thank you for all the donations. Again, all of the proceeds will go to the guy we met in the abandoned house. We'll see you in the next video. March forward.”

He and Damen lazily saluted the camera and ended the live. Laurent sank his teeth into his bottom lip.

Immediately after the end of the stream was confirmed, Damen reached for Laurent hand but noticed the hand contact was going to be ignored. He tugged at Laurent’s hand, “Hey,” he said to get Laurent’s attention.

Laurent expected a real kiss and had presently forced himself into his mind, Damen knew all too well this is what it was. Laurent was actually _pouting_.

 _I want it_ , Damen was urged to say, but he didn’t.

Despite the disappointment and with time, Laurent allowed himself to be drawn in by a persistent Damen, their faces lingered close together, Laurent hesitated.

Tension was thick, palpable.

Holding one another's gaze, Damen brushed his thumb across Laurent's bottom lip. Seductively, Laurent met the pad of Damen thumb with the tip of his tongue, he looked up to Damen with a piercing blue fire in his stare.

Laurent came forward quickly, and they kissed once, light, chaste, and exploratory. From a few inches apart, Laurent looked up into Damen’s dark eyes for conformation. Much like in the dare, Damen slid his fingers through the soft hairs at Laurent's nape, proving the chaste kiss to be a gateway to a deeper, more impassioned one. They closed their eyes and their lips collided, breathing audibly through their noses. The third, very long kiss was even exchange was of give and take, push and pull. When the feel of Laurent’s lips was enough, Damen stuck his tongue in to taste Laurent’s mouth. The feel was something he had longed for. They swirled for a brief moment then pulled back mutually with a wet, parting, sucking sound, and conjoined themselves at the forehead.

He wanted to kiss Laurent again but allowed himself to feel this, the weight of the situation. It was somewhere between arousal and the need for unification. He felt the urge to want to mold into Laurent’s body, to feel him everywhere.

When Damen opened his eyes, he was somehow on his back, his hand was inside Laurent’s shirt, continuously grazing his fingertips across the small of Laurent's back above him. It was simplistic, sensual. They held their heads close together, recycling the same air between one another.

Laurent motioned to kiss Damen again, but this time Damen avoided it with an effortless tilt of his head.

Laurent fell into Damen's neck and exhaled, “What?” he asked, frustrated.

Damen continued to stroke Laurent's back, “We shouldn't," he said, contradicting his actions.

Laurent suddenly pulled up as if to show physically how outrageous Damen’s statement was. They were once again face-to-face, inches apart.

Full of defeat, Laurent sighed on Damen’s lips, his body releasing all tension, he pulled away completely, "We shouldn't," Laurent confirmed. He wiped his mouth while Damen adjusted his outfit.

“I- you're-” _Auguste’s little brother._ Damen hoped his expression would speak the words he meant. He was owed an explanation no matter how quickly Laurent was able to recoup… or pretended to. Full of defeat, Damen said, “And we work together, and we are friends. I don't want to-”

Laurent expressed an annoyed sigh in the middle of Damen’s commentary.

“-Ruin that. I just got out of a situation. You know why,” Damen looked at Laurent with the sincerest puppy dog eyes. He felt as if he was fighting a losing battle, “It is not that I don’t want to. Let’s- just be friends.”

“ _Friends_.” The word came out sounding strange. Making it plain, Laurent slowly dragged his eyes to Damen’s erection. “ _Friends_ ,” he asked, annoyed.

“Don't,” Damen struggled out, “listen to _that_.”

“So, friends,” it didn't sound strange anymore. “Got it.”

Laurent went back to the laptop and waited for confirmation that the live video was uploaded to channel as if nothing happened. He completed a handful of other tasks while Damen wallowed at the sudden close to the conversation.

Without regard to Laurent's unassuming presence, Damen threw himself back into the bean bag. He knew what the situation seemed like. It seemed as if he was stringing Laurent along. Damen craved for Laurent to understand the internal struggle he was actively battling with, and had battled with for months, but Damen could not find the words. He kneaded various parts of his face and groaned into his hand frustratingly. _“Take care of Laurent,”_ He heard and he listened, but why did it feel wrong? Like putting a shoe on the wrong foot.

He heard it again, louder... “ _Take care of Lauren_ _t.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comment let me know what you think! Constructive criticism is welcomed!  
> In the next chapter, Laurent introduces Damen to a famous friend who, in the past, tried to prescribe to Laurent what he thinks Laurent needed! They go to a fancy dinner party ~~and can't keep their hands off of each other.~~
> 
>  
> 
> The stories are relative to date 9/20/2018
> 
> Throughout Chapter 2, Damen is reminiscent. Chapter 2 It is mostly a flashback. Chapter 2 takes place between 02/2018 - 09/20/2018. 
> 
> The present day starts from the point of the text messages about the Q&A/Truth or Dare.
> 
>  
> 
> The duration of Damen and Jokaste relationship: 05/23/2017 - 08/2018
> 
> The first time he thinks about Laurent romantically: 02/2018
> 
> Laurents advice: 05/2018
> 
>  
> 
> Extra deet's:
> 
> Laurent has been in school for two years. Started: 08/2016
> 
> Auguste's death 10/22/2011  
> Laurent was 13. Damen was 18. 
> 
> Laurent is now 20. Damen is 25.
> 
> Damen was scouted by Auguste at the age of 16.
> 
> Damen is studying Natural Remedies / Minor in Agriculture. It's 7-8 year course for his master's
> 
> Auguste was studying business. He was an entrepreneur and was stern about education because he and Laurent grew up in the middle part of middle class with their uncle. Middle class in Vere is basically poor. He was going for his doctorate's, it was an 10 year course. He was working as an assistant to a foreman for a big Veretian construction company with hopes to take it over one day. He bought Laurent's oldest camera with his first check. He moved them out of their uncle's place. Laurent had to move back when he passed.
> 
> Laurent is studying to be a vet tech he is in his second year. He will be interning his 4th year.

**Author's Note:**

> Hi all. I hope you have enjoyed! Let me know! I enjoy feedback, even constructive criticism.  
> I will be slightly changing the names of some people so that it will be more modern. Like for Jokaste I just used Jo. See if you can figure them out!  
> BTW, Damen and Laurent attend a college called West Marlas University. Damen is vegetarian. Their schedules are hectic! But Laurent makes their daily schedule so that they can effectively complete everything, but it must be followed to the T! Their YouTube intro will be in the next chapter, I promise.
> 
> On Tumblr ~~(shameless plug)~~ I recently made a fan cast post on what I think Damen and Laurent look like, and it will NOT disappoint.  
>  Laurent's is [here](https://mimijae.tumblr.com/post/178149726728/emil-andersson-has-long-been-laurent-af-in-my)  
> Damen's is [here](https://mimijae.tumblr.com/post/178179696763/damen-has-always-been-a-special-wonder-to-me-since)
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> Timeline
> 
>  
> 
> The stories are relative to the date 9/20/2018
> 
> The duration of Damen and Jokaste relationship: 05/23/2017 - 08/2018
> 
> The first time Damen thinks about Laurent romantically: 02/2018
> 
> Laurents advice: 05/2018
> 
>  
> 
> Extra deet's:
> 
> Laurent has been in school for two years. Started: 08/2016
> 
> Auguste's death 10/22/2011  
> Laurent was 13. Damen was 18. 
> 
> Laurent is now 20. Damen is 25.
> 
> Damen was scouted by Auguste at the age of 16.
> 
> Damen is studying Natural Remedies / Minor in Agriculture. It's 7-8 year course for his master's
> 
> Auguste was studying business. He was an entrepreneur and was stern about education because he and Laurent grew up in the middle part of middle class with their uncle. Middle class in Vere is basically poor. He was going for his doctorate's, it was an 10 year course. He was working as an assistant to a foreman for a big Veretian construction company with hopes to take it over one day. He bought Laurent's oldest camera with his first check. He moved them out of their uncle's place. Laurent had to move back when he passed.
> 
> Laurent is studying to be a vet tech. He is in his second year. He will be interning his 4th year.


End file.
